2. A postal questionnaire is just a questionnaire which is sent to respondents, completed by them and returned…. through the post.

3. This means that the researcher is not present as the questionnaire is being answered by the respondent.

4. The postal questionnaire has the same advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires……. Can you remember them?

5. ….plus a few more which arise because of the way it is delivered – through the post. and it’s not just that letters can get lost…….

6. So, Why use a postal questionnaire?

7. Postal questionnaires are a good method to use if researchers need to contact a group (a population) which is spread across a large area

8. …or people who may want to remain anonymous in order to give information about a sensitive subject

9. Because of these advantages, postal questionnaires are used a lot in medical research…. British Medical Journal

10. BMJ 2002; 324 : 1183 doi: 10.1136/bmj.324.7347.1183 (Published 18 May 2002) Paper Increasing response rates to postal questionnaires: systematic review Phil EdwardsPhil Edwards, senior research fellow phil.edwards@lshtm.ac.uk) a, Ian Roberts, professor of epidemiology and public health a, Mike Clarke, associate director (research) c, Carolyn DiGuiseppi, associate professor of preventive medicine and biometrics d, Sarah Pratap, research fellow b,phil.edwards@lshtm.ac.uk a Ian Roberts aMike Clarke cCarolyn DiGuiseppi dSarah Pratap b Reinhard WentzReinhard Wentz, information specialist b, Irene Kwan, research fellow b bIrene Kwan b Researchers write papers like this…..

11. J Epidemiol Community Health 2000;54:940– 941 What are the characteristics of general practitioners who routinely do not return postal questionnaires: a cross sectional study Nigel Stocks, David Gunnell …or like this

12. Author: GRAHAM Candida R.; BANERJEE Sube; GILL Randeep S.; Title: Using postal questionnaires to identify carer depression prior to initial patient contact. Reference: Psychiatric Bulletin, 33(5), May 2009, pp.169-171. or like this…….

13. …and all sorts of organisations – businesses, government departments, councils, public services like schools, the police, the fire brigade – all of these may find postal questionnaires a useful way of gathering data.

14. What’s so good about postal questionnaires?

15. Postal Questionnaires: are relatively cheap and quick avoid interviewer bias can be good to use when investigating sensitive issues – respondents don’t feel embarrassed

16. …and respondents can reply anonymously PQs provide results which can be easily quantified and tabulated PQs are high in reliability

17. …on the other hand the perfect research method has not yet been invented

18. Disadvantages PQs usually have poor response rates the results can be biased – due to selective response-those who respond are untypical as no researcher is present to explain the questions or prompt, no clarification is possible

19. and one final disadvantage…. PQs – as we saw above have many of the same problems as questionnaires -as a positivist method, they lack validity

20. But researchers sometimes try to fix these problems – especially the problem of low-response rates

21. Researchers concerned about low response rate can take Several steps to boost response Keep the questionnaire brief Make the design attractive and easy to follow Provide a pre-paid envelope for easy reply Send out reminders Include a polite letter at the start Stress the anonymity of the responses Pay respondents or offer a cash prize (lottery)

22. But these solutions do not always work. Payment is a particularly tricky issue: Research in the BMJ in 2002 has claimed that payment can lead to doubling of response rate Roberts et al in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2000, also found payment helps

23. However ethics committees – in medical settings and universities are often disapproving of offering financial incentives to respondents It is seen as pressurising respondents

25. Researchers have to be pragmatic PQs have their uses Like many methods they can perhaps be best used as part of a multi-method strategy = triangulation